


Fortune Favors the Bold

by Kearatheshadow



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Femdom, Light BDSM, Post-Canon, Safe Sane and Consensual, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Shameless Smut, Spoilers, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 21:12:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17149154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kearatheshadow/pseuds/Kearatheshadow
Summary: The Apprentice reenacts a particular interaction with Julian, with more favorable results. He really wasn’t breaking in this time.





	Fortune Favors the Bold

**Author's Note:**

> This references a paid interaction during Chapter Five: the Hierophant. When you approach your shop you run into him, and you have the option to search him, right before Portia finds you, which is what this references. It is a very fun scene; however, this takes place post-canon, presumably after a hopefully happy ending, and will contain spoilers up to The Sun. Additionally, I used my character name because this is honestly just self-insert with extra steps, and my first time writing anything like it at all. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy anyway. 
> 
> This is also unbeta-ed. Because it's Christmas Eve. No, it's not a Christmas themed fic. No, I don't know what I'm doing.

Verona hugged Countess Nadia goodbye as she left the veranda, promising to stop by for dinner more often, especially during the warm summer nights. She waved to Portia on her way, before diving into the hedge maze. She ventured left, feet carrying her down the familiar servant’s path to a marble door, drenched in ivy and dirt. It became easier to open with each use, and it swung open with little effort, letting her out into the fields, grass stalks painted pink and orange from the setting sun.

The firm wall between Arcana and human had once again been restored, and with that came the freedom to make Vesuvia her own to explore and protect. She stepped forward confidently into empty air, blinking into the system of portals that she’d constructed all over the city. When she set her foot down, she was on the roof of her shop, facing the ocean.

 Verona knelt down and pressed her palm to the trap door, feeling the sigil glow with power, circles of magic feeding off of each other and interlocking like the gears of a clock. She opened the door and slid her way in, feet landing securely on the ladder in the far corner of the card reading room. She closed and locked the door behind her,

 Finally, in the safety of her shop, Verona dropped her bag in the back room and hung up her cloak in the foyer, the scents of myrrh and lavender washing over her. Her hand drifted idly over the display case of crystals and amulets, feeling their energy. Becoming the Countess’s Magician had attracted new customers, but as things have died down, so has her business, no matter how well Julian’s sales pitch was. And with Asra traveling the world for months at a time now...Verona sighed. She had faced worse things in the world than bills. Right now, all she wanted to do was sleep.

The floorboards creaked above her, and Verona whipped her head up, listening attentively as magic pooled into her palms. She carefully walked up the steps to the second floor, peering up to see Julian, hunched over the tea kettle, muttering to himself.

Verona let out a breath and smiled. She crept up the rest of the way and leaned back against the wall, watching as he placed his hands on either side of the stove burner, staring intently down at the wood. A thin plume of smoke rose up from the stove for a few seconds before the small flame died out again, and Julian made a small noise of frustration.

The smile on her face grew fond, and she let it sink into her voice. “Ilya.”

He yelped and spun around, hair falling over his discolored eye as he blushed all the way to the tip of his ears. She gave him a look and kept her tone light. “Were you breaking in again?”

Julian recovered fast, raising one eyebrow with a teasing grin. “Is it really breaking in if I live and work here?”

She stepped forward and he met her halfway, embracing her in a hug that she desperately needed after a long day. “It is when you told me that you were going to stay with Mazelinka tonight. You startled me.”

“She sent me back early with a tin of special tea, I was going to make it for you.” He explained, kissing the top of her head. “I still can if you want.”

 “We can have it with breakfast tomorrow,” she said, lifting her head to kiss him. His skin was warm through his thin undershirt, and she suddenly realized how touched starved she was, gliding her hands up his chest and into his hair, deepening the kiss.

She knew _exactly_ how she wanted to end her night, now that he was here with her.

“I have to deal with this intruder first,” she said, leaning back and giving him a playful smile. “How can I be sure you weren’t going to steal anything?”

His breath caught, face flushing red again and Verona remembered the second time she’d caught him in her shop, back when they hadn’t remembered each other, back when they were two strangers facing an attraction that they couldn’t name. He had dared her to search him and she hadn’t backed down-- and based on his reaction, he remembered that too. Verona would bet good money that he remembered the part where she ordered him around a lot more.

Regardless, he sank into the role of a troublemaker as easy as breathing, slipping on his trademark mischievous grin. “Search me then, if you don’t believe me.” He stepped out of their embrace and held his hands up innocently, palms up in submission. “And be sure to be _thorough_ love. You haven’t a clue what I have up my sleeve.”

“Mostly hot air, I’d imagine,” she responded lightly, circling behind him. He craned his neck, eyes glinting in the glow light, and Verona shot her hand out and _gripped_ his hair, pushing his head forward again.

“Did I say you could move?”

Julian _whined,_ and when her cool hand traced down the back of his neck he let out a breathy little gasp. “N-no, Mistress.”

She had been bold but more unsure of herself back then, but now? Now she knew _exactly_ what he needed, and damn it all if she didn’t need it too. Especially now, here, in the space that they made into their home, where he was even more shameless.

“Keep still then,” she tried to keep her voice calm and comforting, keeping one hand poised on his neck as she tried to figure out where to begin. She felt him swallow, muscles tense in anticipation, and she raised her other arm, letting both of her hands fall onto his shoulders. He was so tall that it was a little inconvenient, but she _felt_ more than saw his eyes flutter shut, submitting under her touch.

Her knees went a little weak at that.

Still, her hands drifted down across this shoulders, sliding down his back, feeling the rise of his chest as his breathing got a little ragged. “Worked up already love?” She teased, pressing her thumbs into the small of his back. “I’ve barely done anything and you’re already falling apart.”

“Not even close,” came the response, attitude sneaking into his tone. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

Her hand came down on his ass in one firm motion, making him yelp and rock up on his toes. He drew in a sharp breath and Verona leaned over to see the expression on his face-- cheeks red and eyes screwed shut, absently biting his lip as he tried not to move. She placed her hands loosely on his hips as he settled back onto his heels, teasing under the waistline of his trousers with her fingers, just to feel his fever-pitched skin.

She waited a few seconds, then pulled her hands away, and she watched his head turn, desperation tinging his voice. “No, please--”

“ _Don’t move Ilya.”_ Her tone gave no room to argue, and he snapped back into position in an instant, a small noise escaping his throat.

“You’re being difficult tonight Ilya,” she said, voice carefully composed. She pulled her tunic up over her head as she spoke, and she could practically see his mind working overtime as he listened to her undress. “Do I have to restrain you?” She asked as her pants dropped to the floor.

“T-that won’t be necessary,” he said after a heartbeat, and she knew he was fighting the eternal battle of whether to be good or to feel the rope around his wrists.

She’d save that for another night. Right now, he was willing to follow through with their little game, and she rewarded him by stripping completely and pressing her bare body to his back, hands slipping under his shirt and roaming his chest possessively. His heartbeat thundered under her palms, and she pressed a soft kiss between his shoulder blades. His small moan went straight through her, and she resisted the urge to squirm.

“I’m not done searching you yet,” she whispered into his back, and she pinched one of his nipples, just to feel him jump. “You’re just going to have to be patient.”

“Darling,” he said in a rush, voice harsh in the quiet of their room. “I can confidently say that I have never been patient once in my goddamned life.”

“No,” she said, drawing her hands back to rest on his hips. “But you _have_ been good for me. You will be good for me, won’t you Ilya?” She reached one hand up to pet his hair, and he _preened_ , leaning into her touch.

“Yes, mistress,” he purred, more than content at the attention. Verona bit back a moan, barely keeping her composure. The cool air against her skin just made it all the more clear just how wet she was, and she didn’t know how much longer she could stretch this out before she broke.

She kept one hand in his hair, ready to tug on it at a whim, and with the other, she drifted from his hip to tease the outline of his cock through his pants. He jumped in her arms, stuttering nonsense, and she squeezed, making him whine.

“Is it a knife in your pocket this time?” She felt his cock twitch under her palm.

Julian swallowed, voice cracking. “No.”

She hummed. “I don’t know if I believe you, I think I have to be sure.”

“Verona,” Julian’s voice was breathless, desperate, pitching in just a way that he knew would get under her skin. “Please.”

She was starting to be just as overwhelmed, but couldn’t take the teasing tone out of her voice. “What, you don’t want me to be thorough?”

She squeezed again, and he choked. _“I want you. Please._ ”  

She released her grip on him, incredibly pleased when he didn’t move an inch. Verona moved in front of him, finally able to take all of him in. His chest was flushed red, the blush spreading up his throat into his face. Sweat made his mussed hair stick to his temples, his bitten lips red and swollen. Julian’s eyes were dark with desire, drinking her in with a slightly dazed expression-- he was in deep, need rolling off of him in waves.

She stepped forward until there was barely an inch of space between them, and she met his eyes, making sure she got his full attention. “Code?” She asked softly and watched as he blinked.

“Saffron,” came the reply after a moment, and she smiled. It was just a check-in, and it meant she was free to continue. “ _Good boy,”_ she murmured, watching as it washed over him, the tips of his ears turning red as his eyes glazed over again, falling apart at the praise.

Verona turned and walked the few steps to the bed, sitting up in the center and grinning the whole time. Silver eyes followed her every move, burning a hole into her back, but he stayed frozen to the spot, waiting. She leaned her weight back on her hands, and not looking away from him, spread her thighs apart. She could feel just how wet she was, and being so exposed just made her twitch. She ached, needing to be touched, to be filled-- but she needed to break her non-magical spell over Julian first.

“Ilya?” He looked like he was dying, having become a frazzled, blushing mess. He hung onto her every word. _“Come here.”_

He was over her in an instant, still dressed, slotting himself between her legs and pressing desperate fleeting kisses to her mouth, neck, chest, teasing her nipples with his fingers and tongue. He pressed his hips down into hers in a mindless grind, and she was almost swept away with it, arching into the contact but needing _more._

“Ilya,” she said, voice wavering on a moan. She tugged on his hair and forced his head up to hers. His hips stuttered and he ground his cock into her stomach, gasping her name.

“Push these down,” she ordered him, hooking her fingers in the waistband of his pants.

He didn’t even have the breath to reply, rearing up onto his knees. The loss of warmth was only for a moment as he complied and came back down to hover over her, one hand on his cock, guiding it to rub against her clit and push against her entrance. He didn’t push in yet-- he was waiting, ever obedient, forearms shaking with the effort of holding himself back and  _f_ _uck_ did she love him like this.

“Yes,” she said, and the next moment she moaned, feeling the stretch as he _finally_ pushed inside her. The slide was easy; she was dripping wet, and she threw her head back, toes curling. “ _That’s it_ , good boy, you’re so good for me.”

Julian buried his face in her neck, fists curled in the sheets as he let out broken half moans as he bottomed out, taking a second to hold himself together. Verona knew she wouldn’t last very long, stars already dancing behind her eyes, and inspiration came at her in a flash.

“I love watching you fall apart in me,” she whispered into his ear and shuddered when he bucked his hips. Julain whined into her neck, and she raked her nails down his sweat-soaked back under his shirt, feeling him shudder. He raised his head and shoulders to look at her, his fucked out expression turning a little desperate. “Love, I won’t last if you keep-- if you--”

“Keep telling you how good you feel?” She asked lightly, biting back a laugh as he screws his eyes shut and nods tightly.

“Yes, that, if you would _please--”_

“Fuck me, Julian,” Verona dug her nails into his scalp.

He swore and pressed his forehead to hers, but when he opened his eyes, the adoring dazed expression was back, and he kissed her, shifting his weight into a better position. “Yes, mistress.” He said against her lips, in the tone he uses when he tells her he loves her early in the morning before the sun has even risen.

He tried to set a slow rhythm at first, but Verona lifted his shirt to rake her nails down his chest, and he gets the message to go faster, skin stinging in the _best way_. It wasn’t long before Verona was a mess under him, unable to keep her hands still, small noises being forced out of her. She felt her magic building as she got closer, adding another layer onto the heat and pleasure that was making her head swim, and she could only let out breathless encouragements when he got the angle right, legs tightening around his waist.

“Right there yes, you feel so good,” she started to ramble, she couldn’t help it, praise and encouragement on the tip of her tongue, but she wasn’t done with him yet as she pulled on his hair again. “Julian, Ilya, you can’t come yet love, not until I say so.”

“Verona please,” He didn’t stop, but he lowered his face to hers, one hand intertwining their fingers to press her hand into the bed, anchoring himself. “I’m so close, love.”

“I am too,” she said as she kissed him once, twice, feeling the magic under her skin crest, the snap of his hips into hers making the heat in her core build, coming at her in a rush. “I’m going to come, I want you to come with me, I want you to come in me.” She mashed their mouths together again, squeezing his hand, and Julian groaned, fucking her faster, mumbling little _'please's_  against her mouth like a mantra.

“Come for me _Ilya,_ ” she ordered him breathlessly, “I want you to--” she’s coming then, back arching like a bow, white-hot heat racing through her veins, a mixture of magic and pleasure making her shake in Julian’s arms as he comes in her, stuttering half thrusts leading to him press himself as close as he can to her, sweaty bodies intertwined, hands somehow still clasped.

“You’re going to ruin me one day,” Julian said eventually as he nipped at her neck.

“Only if you ruin me in return,” she said, voice a little sore. “We have to do everything together remember?”

He lifted his head from the crook of her neck to look at her, tired affection seeping into his smile. Verona kissed him on the nose and he chuckled, reaching down to pinch her thigh. “Didn’t I ruin you enough for one night?”

“Maybe, but there’s always the morning.”

“Insatiable,” he muttered as he lifted himself up to pull out of her. “Insatiable and evil.”

“I thought you liked it when I was mean,” she said, sighing as he pulled out, She summoned a cloth from the other side of the room to clean up with, but she didn’t get the aim quite right, and hit the back of her lover’s head.

Julian grabbed it and laughed. “Did I ever tell you how much I love magic?”

He wiped her down gently, before taking care of himself, eventually standing to shuck off his sweat-soaked shirt and pants. “And as for being mean,” He said slowly as he brushed over a scratch on his chest. “You know very well that I can’t get enough.”  

“I was just checking,” she said, just as soft, “You’re always _so good_ for me, you know?”

“Mean,” Julian said as he smacked her gently with the cloth. “Stop using that voice, I was just coming out of it.”

“You love my voice,” she said, stretching her leg out to the edge of the bed to nudge him with her foot. “You _love it_ when I tell you what a good boy you are.”

Julian blushed but recovered quickly diving back into bed to kiss her, tangling his long limbs with hers, finally, blissfully, naked. “I love every second of it, you mean little minx.” He pitched his voice lower, pressing his forehead to hers. “I like how I can feel the marks you leave on me now and it doesn’t fade away. I like how you mark me up and I can feel you for days, feel that I’m yours everywhere I go.”

Her breath caught in her throat, a spark traveling down her spine. “Now who’s being mean?”

His grin stretched lazily across his face, incredibly satisfied with himself. “Guilty as charged.”

With that, Verona flipped him over onto his back and set about making as many bruises as she possibly could.

Julian certainly didn’t complain.

**Author's Note:**

> In my mind, there's a magical concoction that makes men temporarily infertile, and that it’s a normal thing they use as birth control, but it didn’t have a place in the fic, mostly because I wrote this in a day and a half. Practice safe sex y'all. 
> 
> You can find me on Twitter at @Kearatheshadow. Come yell about the Arcana with me.


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